Shanghai copper futures fall: Shanghai copper futures were lower in early trading on Monday, pressured by a sharp rise in Shanghai Metal Exchange warehouse stocks, traders said. The exchange said on Friday that copper stocks rose to 108,068 tonnes last week from 105,064 tonneson October 16. The most active February 1999 contract stood at 15,750 yuan ($1,902) per tonne, down 200 yuan from Friday's close. It opened at 15,920 yuan and traded between 15,920 and 15,740. The key January 1999 contract fell 180 yuan to 15,500 yuan. "Surging copper inventories is a disaster for the market," one trader said. Stop-loss selling dragged prices down further amid poor sentiment, traders said. Weakness in London Metal Exchange (LME) copper on Friday also weighed on the market, they said. LME three-month copper closed Friday's kerb $2 lower at$1,611, surrendering early short-covering-inspired gains of $17. In Shanghai, spot copper was quoted at 15,200 yuan per tonne on Monday, down from 15,300-15,450 yuan on Friday.

KL tin unchanged: Malaysia's spot tin price closed unchanged at 20.33 ringgit ($5.35) a kg on Monday despite a higher London market on Friday. Traders said a larger offering kept a lid on the local price. Trading was brief as bids and offers matched at the opening, they said.Volume was 63 tonnes, against 51 tonnes on Friday, with buying seen from European and local interests. "The higher offering prevented the price from going up.Also, some buyers are not very keen to commit at this level," said a trader. He said further gains in London would help lift the local price. The premium held by the local price over the London market has narrowed to $25 a tonne from $85 previously, traders said.

China coal output down: China produced 815.7733 million tonnes of coal in the first nine months of this year, down 7.4 percent from the year-ago period, the State Statistical Bureau said on Monday. Coal output in September alone was 94.1531 million tonnes,it said.

Light Gulf crudes firmer : Light Middle East crude prices were notionally firmer on Monday although discussion remained general as traders continued to assess their positions for December trading, market participants said. Most traders said firm bids and offers were almost unheard of in the market, but that theyexpected the Abu Dhabi crude grades to begin trading at a slightly firmer level than that of November cargoes. "I think we will see more requirements emerge for December cargoes compared to November, both among Japanese and South Korean refiners," a Japanese trader said. Opinion was mixed, however, on whether December cargoes would begin trading at a discount or a premium to the official selling price. In the regional crude market, news that the planned mid-November restart of Bass Strait output would represent 10-20 percent of normal production appeared to have little direct impact on trading on the Tapis market. The Bass Strait shutdown, following an explosion at the onshore Longford plant in late November, had provided support for light sweet crude crude differentials.

Chinese crude imports down: China's crude oil imports in the first nine months of the year stood at 23.5 million tonnes, down 2.3 percent from a year-ago period, customs data showed on Monday. Crude oil imports for September alonewere 2.16 million tonnes. No comparison was given.

Higher bids support Nymex: December Nymex crudes in Asia rose in thin trading on Monday morning, but brokers said this was not seen as a signal of a sustained recovery. December Nymex on the after hours ACCESS system was up 12cents per barrel to $14.17 following an eight cent rise in New York, where December settled at $14.05. "There isn't much happening. There are just some higher bids, but I think that in the short term the overall high stocks in the US will pull prices back down," said a broker in Singapore. The New York market hit a high of $14.32 on Friday, but lost some of the gains at the end of the day on profit taking. News on Friday that Saudi Arabia was not ruling out further action to help raise oil prices was encouraging some players to hold onto their positions rather sell yet. On Sunday, Kuwait oil minister Sheikh Saud Nasser al-Sabah said he would push for production cuts when producers meet in the next few weeks, although Venezuela,another major producer, has said it is opposed to further cuts.

China sugar output up: China's sugar output totalled 5.8957 million tonnes in the first nine months of this year, up 28.2 percent compared with the year-ago period, the State Statistical Bureau said in a report on Monday. Sugar output in September alone was 11,000 tonnes, it said. No comparison was given.

KL palm oil up: Malaysian palm oil futures prices were higher at midday on speculative buying and short covering prompted by talk of bullish export data for October 1-25, traders said. Cargo surveyor Societe Generale de Surveillance (SGS) is due to release its estimate of Malaysian palm oil exports for October 1-25 later on Monday. SGS estimated exports at 546,171 tonnes for October 1-20 against 540,913 tonnes in September 1-20. "There's talk in the market that October 1-25 exports were very good. We have to wait and see," said a trader. Prices had opened lower following a weaker Chicago soyoil futures close on Friday.

Indonesian olein stable: Indonesian olein prices were stable in quiet early trading on Monday as players stayed out because of a volatile currency, traders said. "The market was relatively quiet this morning as players were on the sidelines awaiting further developments on the currency front," one Jakarta-based trader said. Traders said olein was quoted at around 3,200-3,300 rupiah/kg in Jakarta. In Medan, North Sumatra, prices were slightly up at 3,100. They said sentiment in coming days would be determined by the currency. The rupiah slid back to close at 7,800 to the dollar on Friday as the market's conviction that Indonesian authorities were uncomfortable with a rate stronger than 7,000 snuffed out its recent sharp rally, dealers said. The rupiah was quoted at 7,500/7650 against the dollar at 0440 GMT on Monday after see-sawing in early trade.

Dalian soybeans end down: Dalian soybean futures ended mostly down on Monday after heavy losses for Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) soybeans onFriday, traders said. Dalian's most active May 1999 contract closed at 2,290 yuan ($277) per tonne, down 14 yuan from Friday's settlement price. It traded between 2,284 yuan and 2,298 yuan. The key November contract rose 37 yuan to 2,754 yuan on speculative buying, traders said. CBOT soybean futures tumbled on Friday, ending at two-week lows in nearby contracts on a favourable US harvest outlook and weakness in soy product markets. CBOT prices settled three to seven cents per bushel lower. Dalian futures followed the CBOT lower with prices under pressure from both the new crop and imported soybeans, traders said. Volume fell sharply to 50,864 lots from 105,342 lots amid the cautious sentiment, they said. The January 1999 contract fell 17 yuan to 2,256; March dropped 15 to 2,244; and July lost eight to 2,305.

Tokyo corn futures lower: Tokyo corn futures ended lower amid dull trade on Monday as the market followed a weak Chicago close on Friday, traders said. "Chicago was the main market-moving factortoday because there was no significant development in dollar/yen. But in Principle, Tokyo corn is more prone to fluctuations in exchange rates," said an analyst at a commodities brokerage. Prices ranged from 80 to 130 yen per tonne lower. Benchmark November shed 100 to end at 13,280 yen, while nearby January lost 80 to 13,210 yen. Estimated volume was 20,068 lots. Traders said they expected a relatively weak performance in Chicago this week as crop harvests have been active. The December contract on the CBOT Project A trade system stood at $2.17- by 0700 GMT against $2.18- on Friday's Chicago close.

Indian cotton gains: Indian cotton prices rose on Monday on renewed buying on reports of poor new crop supplies at producing centres, traders said. "Unseasonal rains in producing centres has affected the quality and supplies of the new crop," one dealer said. "Late rains has also hit the size of the crop," he said. In spot deals, Bengal deshi October delivery rose by 40-50Rupees to 1,390/1,410 Rupeesper maund (37.32 kg) and November went up by 50 Rupees to 1,350/1,360 Rupees per maund. The Indian cotton market traded only on Friday last week as the market was shut for a series of religious holidays. Saw-ginned cotton October delivery gained Rs 25-35 to Rs 1,825/1,875 per maund. November delivery ended Rs 25 higher at Rs 1,800/1,825 per maund. In the Gujarat segment, Kalyan cotton price rose Rs 100-200 to Rs 15,500/15,700 per candy (355.56 kg). Wagad cotton price were up rs 100 to Rs 15,100/15,300 and Kala-ginned added Rs 200 Rupees to Rs 14,700 per candy. Long-staple Gujarat Sankar-4 for superior grade was quoted at Rs 20,300/20,500 per candy, up by Rs 300-400.

Gold, silver drifting: Gold and silver are expected to drift in narrow ranges on Monday as a lack of volume offsets any boost from weakness in financial markets, analysts said. Gold was seen confined to a $290/$293 an ounce range,leading the way for silver in a $4.80/$4.90 band. Platinum could strengthen on buying in an attempt to pushthe platinum/gold spread out to $50, one analyst said.